Teachers union urges Scott to veto voucher-expansion bill

By Leslie Postal

The Florida Education Association -- the statewide teachers union -- today urged Gov. Rick Scott to veto a bill that would expand the state's largest school voucher program and create a new, state-funded program for disabled youngsters who are not enrolled in public schools.

@bdb0131 Socioeconomic status will tell you the grade the school gets and how well students will perform on tests. That is another reason not to tie teachers' raises to scores on FCAT tests. Students have very varied IQs and reading abilities when a teacher has a classroom full of...

The union asked Scott to veto the bill (SB 850) because, it argued, it would expand a program that "diverts money away from our public schools and provides it to private and religious schools with little oversight or accountability."

Corporations fund the program with donations, for which the state gives them credits on their tax bill. Nearly 60,000 students used the scholarships this school year.

The program has grown rapidly since it was started in 2001, and it has the strong support of many of Florida's Republican leaders. They argue it provides an important choice for parents whose children may be struggling in public school but who cannot afford a private option on their own.

But opponents, like the union, note that most of the scholarships go to private schools, and most of those are religious. In its letter to Scott, the union said that sending children to religious schools with taxpayer money "violates the will of Florida voters" who've voted to preserve "separation of church and state" in Florida's constitution.

The letter also said that the private schools are not subject to the same accountability rules as public ones. Students using the vouchers do not "take the state mandated tests," it read, and "teachers hired by these schools do not have to be certified, and there is no penalty for poor student performance."

The bill, which includes many other educational provisions, also creates new "savings accounts" that the parents of some disabled students can use to access therapy or other services.

The union called that program "a new entitlement" for those disabled students "even though the state continues to underfund" public-school programs for youngsters with disabilities.